Putting flatwounds on a solid body
Guy Snape
substitute for buying an archtop, I thought I'd try putting flatwounds on my
old crappy yamaha solid electric. Is this worth doing? Anything I need to
know first?
- guy
Nnajar828
Mark Guest
for light gauge strings and you choose heavier guage flats, you may need to
have the nut regulated (widen the slots) to accomodate the thicker strings.
It's not expensive, nor particularly difficult with the right tools.
If the Lowden plays well, don't write it off as a jazz guitar. I've been
listening to some old Larry Coryell 12-string stuff. The guitars aren't very
"jazz" sounding, but it doesn't bother me a bit. If you like the Lowden, why
not use it?
--
Mark Guest
JazzerWB at JahWho dot com
"Guy Snape" <guy....@nospam.ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:NS8C8.668$k46....@newsfep1-win.server.ntli.net...
Tom Walls
jazzerw...@yahoo.com says...
> I don't see anything wrong with this idea. If the solid-body has been set up
> for light gauge strings and you choose heavier guage flats, you may need to
> have the nut regulated (widen the slots) to accomodate the thicker strings.
> It's not expensive, nor particularly difficult with the right tools.
>
> If the Lowden plays well, don't write it off as a jazz guitar. I've been
> listening to some old Larry Coryell 12-string stuff. The guitars aren't very
> "jazz" sounding, but it doesn't bother me a bit. If you like the Lowden, why
> not use it?
>
> --
> Mark Guest
> JazzerWB at JahWho dot com
I've concentrated my efforts on a Martin D35 from time to time, and --
while I do like the sound -- it puts too much stress on my left hand.
It's fine for short periods, but playing an entire set on the Martin
would do me in. Maybe the Lowden plays easier.
> "Guy Snape" <guy....@nospam.ntlworld.com> wrote in message
> news:NS8C8.668$k46....@newsfep1-win.server.ntli.net...
> > My main guitar is a Lowden flat top acoustic, not very 'jazz' sounding. As
> a
> > substitute for buying an archtop, I thought I'd try putting flatwounds on
> my
> > old crappy yamaha solid electric. Is this worth doing? Anything I need to
> > know first?
> >
> > - guy
> >
I use D'addario Chrome 12s on my Tele and they sound and play great. As
others have noted you'll need to set up the guitar for it. I swapped out
the neck pup for a Seth Lover. You may find it beneficial to look at
replacement pups as well.
--
Tom Walls
the guy at the Temple of Zeus
http://www.arts.cornell.edu/zeus/
smooth
> I use D'addario Chrome 12s on my Tele and they sound and play great.
Hi Tom, I have been looking for a replacement neck PU for my tele.
I'm wondering, The Set Lover you have I presume is a full size humbucker?
How did you manage to fit that into a tele ? perhaps you own a nashville-
model ??
Thanx in advance.
regards,
--
Mike aka smooth
Tom Walls
says...
humbucker in the neck position. I had heard that Teles used a somewhat
smaller humbucker than was common, so I emailed Fender and they assured
me it was standard size -- sure enough, the Seymour Duncan fit perfectly.
smooth
> Oh, I'm sorry, I have a Squire Protone Fat Tele that is routed for a
> humbucker in the neck position. I had heard that Teles used a somewhat
> smaller humbucker than was common, so I emailed Fender and they assured
> me it was standard size -- sure enough, the Seymour Duncan fit perfectly.
Thanx, but to bad for me, since I have a standard (also squier)
telecaster where humbuckers don't fit in at all.
Actually, I don't want to cut any holes into my guitar since the
instrument is from my father's heritage. Maybe someday a SD little '59
(paf style humbucker in single coil size) will do the trick for me.
Bob Russell
guy....@nospam.ntlworld.com wrote on 5/8/02 8:29 AM:
I use flatwounds on solidbodies all the time. There's no reason not to; it's
just a different kind of string. I really like the feel and sound of
flatwounds on my G&L ASAT Deluxe, my "Franken-tele", and my Strat.
-- Bob Russell
http://www.bobrussellguitar.com
Joey Goldstein
put a .012 (E) and an .016 (B) on though. It sounds pretty good. A
little dark but that's what I'm after. Sort of Metheny meets Bickert. I
was using D'Addario Chromes .012 to .052 for a while but it was too hard
to play.
I think, in general you're better of with round wounds on a solid body though.
--
Joey Goldstein
Guitarist/Jazz Recording Artist/Teacher
Home Page: http://www.joeygoldstein.com
Email: <joegold AT sympatico DOT ca>
Guy Snape
news:abb7ro$gtpe1$1...@ID-100641.news.dfncis.de...
> I don't see anything wrong with this idea. If the solid-body has been set
up
> for light gauge strings and you choose heavier guage flats, you may need
to
> have the nut regulated (widen the slots) to accomodate the thicker
strings.
> It's not expensive, nor particularly difficult with the right tools.
>
> If the Lowden plays well, don't write it off as a jazz guitar. I've been
> listening to some old Larry Coryell 12-string stuff. The guitars aren't
very
> "jazz" sounding, but it doesn't bother me a bit. If you like the Lowden,
why
> not use it?
I do, but having played a friend's L5, I got a bout of GAS, and this seemed
like a possible cheap compromise. :-) Course, I don't expect the old yamaha
to sound or play _quite_ like 5 grand's worth of hand carved archtop ...
- guy
Mark Guest
your $$ for a new axe. New strings never cured my GAS!
--
Mark Guest
JazzerWB at JahWho dot com
"Guy Snape" <guy....@nospam.ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:_RcC8.489$1r.4...@news8-gui.server.ntli.net...
Thom_j.
& it fit the nut fine but [for me] the low E & A played a bit dead.
but of course everything is subjective.. good luck thom_j.
"Mark Guest" <jazzerw...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:abb7ro$gtpe1$1...@ID-100641.news.dfncis.de...
Margaret Wilson
think it just sounds better with roundwounds. I have this guitar strung
with 1148s (wound 3rd). After adjusting the truss rod to accomodate the
heavier strings, I found that the rod adjustment is now at its limit. I
don't see how this neck could handle heavier strings, as the neck has a tiny
bit more relief than I like right now. How are you guys putting 12s on your
teles???? By the way, mine's a 2000 Fender US Fat Tele.
Regards,
Margaret
"Joey Goldstein" <nos...@nowhere.net> wrote in message
news:3CD94458...@nowhere.net...
Tom Walls
says...
> Yes, I agree with Joey. I had flatwounds on my fat tele for a while, but I
> think it just sounds better with roundwounds. I have this guitar strung
> with 1148s (wound 3rd). After adjusting the truss rod to accomodate the
> heavier strings, I found that the rod adjustment is now at its limit. I
> don't see how this neck could handle heavier strings, as the neck has a tiny
> bit more relief than I like right now. How are you guys putting 12s on your
> teles???? By the way, mine's a 2000 Fender US Fat Tele.
>
> Regards,
>
> Margaret
>
I guess I've been using 12s for about 9 months now. I slowly went from
10s to 11s to 12s and have had to make truss rod and saddle adjustments,
but so far so good. I'll keep you posted. I really feel that the heavier
gauge strings make a BIG difference in tone; especially for clarity when
playing double stops. This is a big issue with me -- I can't stand muddy
sounding chords. I have to hear each note.
Jay Carlson
> others have noted you'll need to set up the guitar for it. I swapped out
> the neck pup for a Seth Lover. You may find it beneficial to look at
> replacement pups as well.
> --
> Tom Walls
> the guy at the Temple of Zeus
> http://www.arts.cornell.edu/zeus/
Hi Tom,
Oh yeah, flat strings and the Seth Lover pickup are beautiful. I've been
using flat strings on my solid Ibanez Artist (& Holst archtop) for a few
years. I've been through Chromes, D'Aquistos, currently liking the TI (flat
nickel wrapped) strings, but I find I need thicker TI's to feel "right"
under my hand compared to similar strings of other brands. The nickel
strings start out really rich sounding, not too bright, just warm and
lively, but when they go dead, they're DEAD.. Right now I'm loving the TI
14-54s., but prefer 12s or 13s of D'Aquistos or D'Adarios.
The Duncan "Seth Lover" pickup is my favorite. I had Steve Holst defile
my carved top with one.. mmmmmm.
Jay
http://artists2.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/Jay_Carlson/
(Steves guitars: http://www.pacinfo.com/~sholst/ )
( Steve's furniture : (if anybody cares) Wow, I do...)
http://www.pacinfo.com/~sholst/furniture.htm
Margaret Wilson
nylon string exclusively, so I played the .009s that came on it till I
toughened up my callouses. Then I went to .010s. After a few months, I
finally moved to the 1148s. This was by far the most difficult adjustment,
but now they feel great. I don't know that I'd want heavier strings on the
tele anyway, I was just curious how the neck could handle it, seeing as mine
doesn't want to go any heavier than .011s. At any rate, I just got a new
Samick RL4 archtop, and that's strung with 1252s. They're firmer feeling
(not so easy to bend!) as the 1148s on my tele, but the short scale helps
some. I don't think I'd like .012s on a 25.5" scale guitar, but I suppose I
could get used to that too! ;-)
Regards,
Margaret
"Tom Walls" <tw...@REMOVEcornell.edu> wrote in message
news:MPG.17433d9e8...@newsstand.cit.cornell.edu...
Tom Walls
says...
> Yes, please do keep me posted. When I got the tele, I'd been playing a
> nylon string exclusively, so I played the .009s that came on it till I
> toughened up my callouses. Then I went to .010s. After a few months, I
> finally moved to the 1148s. This was by far the most difficult adjustment,
> but now they feel great. I don't know that I'd want heavier strings on the
> tele anyway, I was just curious how the neck could handle it, seeing as mine
> doesn't want to go any heavier than .011s. At any rate, I just got a new
> Samick RL4 archtop, and that's strung with 1252s. They're firmer feeling
> (not so easy to bend!) as the 1148s on my tele, but the short scale helps
> some. I don't think I'd like .012s on a 25.5" scale guitar, but I suppose I
> could get used to that too! ;-)
>
> Regards,
>
> Margaret
>
I'd been using 12s on my D35 before I went to flatwounds so I was already
used to the heavier guages. I used roundwound 11s back in the day on a
series of Fender guitars. I'm thinking of moving up to 13s on my es135
because the 12s are feeling a little flimsy.
Tom Walls
furniture, too.
Joey Goldstein
Margaret Wilson wrote:
>
> Yes, I agree with Joey. I had flatwounds on my fat tele for a while, but I
> think it just sounds better with roundwounds. I have this guitar strung
> with 1148s (wound 3rd). After adjusting the truss rod to accomodate the
> heavier strings, I found that the rod adjustment is now at its limit. I
> don't see how this neck could handle heavier strings, as the neck has a tiny
> bit more relief than I like right now. How are you guys putting 12s on your
> teles???? By the way, mine's a 2000 Fender US Fat Tele.
I had an American Series Tele for a while that I tried to put .012 to
.052s on. I ended up stripping the nut for the truss rod adjustment. The
store's tech looked at it and told me that technically I should not have
tried to force it but that since it was clear that the truss rod was
maxxed out and it still had too much bow that the a replacement neck
would be covered under warranty. The new neck was fine and still had
some room to tighten the truss rod even with the .012s on it.
If your guitar was still under warranty then you would deserve a new
neck too.
I can only conclude that Fender's quality control in this area is
suspect. And while I love having the truss rod adjustment nut being
available without having to remove the neck, the truss rod adjustment
nut they use is too small, flimsy and is too easily stripped.
Thom_j.
us that he slept/lived out of his car? I gotta feeling he has maids
& butlers too. Gigs must pay be $bucks in the Islands hmm? :)
David and Brenda Latham
tone, and no squeak when moving positions.
I use the George Bensons on my archtops (= heavy bottoms the GB 12's are
13's on the bottom).
Re solid bodies: On my Les Paul I use the TI Swing Series 12s but I replace
the wound 3rd string (G @ .020) with a TI unwound G of the same size. On my
Strat I use the TI Swing Series 10s and do the wound to unwound G @ .018
replacement.
TI also has the BeBop series, which are real fine (small diameter) round
wounds, a bit brighter jazz tone than flats. tried them..sounded fine
tone-wise but I couldn't get by the squeak when moving.
"Guy Snape" <guy....@nospam.ntlworld.com> wrote in message
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Jeff DeMond
mahogany body w/ carved top and no f-holes). I think the flats sound
fabulous on this guitar (I don't bend 'em much though). I use .13 flats on
my archtops generally, and I love the rounder tone. Currently have TI Bebop
.14's (rounds) on my Buscarino Monarch (17" archtop), but I'm going back to
.13 D'Addarios (flats) because, despite the .14 on top, the TI's feel flimsy
to me. The only round wound strings I use on electrics these days are on a
Paul Reed Smith Artist II - there I use .10 - .52 or the equivalent .11's
and can bend away :-)
Jeff DeMond
"Guy Snape" <guy....@nospam.ntlworld.com> wrote in message
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Poets axe
>my
>> old crappy yamaha solid electric. Is this worth doing?
I've put D'Addario flatwound 12's on an early '80's Yamaha SBH 400 that I
recently bought. The guitar came with D'Addario round wound 11's. Apart from
intonating the bridge (which I normally do after a string change) further
adjustments were not needed. Verdict: sounds great!
<<old crappy yamaha solid electric>>
I've owned three early '80's Yamaha SBG's and and two SA's. They were anything
but crappy!